The Vast Expanse
by CobaltAC
Summary: Title Change. Previously Titled "Two Brothers". Act 1: Two human brothers move to an asari colony in the aftermath of the the First Contact War. Cultures clash and hilarity ensues. Rating may change.
1. Act 1: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own mass effect or any of its characters. I do own these OCs though.

This is my first story that is not a spoof and I want to see how good I am at serious story telling. I, like nearly everyone else on Earth, want to better myself and I need criticism to find my weak points, so be honest in the reviews. Keep it classy though. No swearing or offensive name calling. Thank you.

Note: This story takes place in 2158, a year after the conclusion of the First Contact War.

**Act One**

"**A New Beginning"**

****

"Thomas, sweety, wake up!" cooed a motherly voice in Tom's ear.

Seventeen-year old Tom McCreary groaned, reluctant to wake up from his dreamless sleep. He stirred, trying to find a more comfortable position to sleep, only to realize he was sitting up in a rather uncomfortable chair. His back ached and his eyes burned due to the sterile white light that shined in his face.

"Sleeping Ugly, wake the fuck up! Get your bags, we're landing!" A younger, sharper voice cut its way into Tom's eardrum.

Reality came flooding back to Tom. His eyes shot open, vision coming into focus. The two unidentifiable shapes in front of him turned into his aunt, Helena McCreary and his twin brother, Jacob. The other shapes behind them turned into a few turians and many, many asari, who were casting the trio of humans disapproving looks.

Tom brushed his unkempt hair out of his eyes and, along with his Aunt, shot Jacob a withering glare. Helena gave Jacob a hard slap upside the head.

"Watch your language young man! We haven't even gotten off the shuttle yet and you've already given the other passengers a bad impression on humans!" hissed Helena in Jacob's ear. Her glare morphed into a warm smile as she turned back to Tom

"Thomas, hon, grab your luggage," Helena said sweetly as she looked passed Tom, through the window of the shuttle, "We're here!"

It wasn't until that moment that Tom realized what was happening. He began to remember the events that led up to this point. He remembered the Siege of Shanxi, the resulting panic on Earth, and Jacob's frantic attempts to contact Dad. He also remembered the funeral, Helena taking custody of the twins, and Helena's decision to move "in order to start over".

Tom understood why Helena wanted to move. The protesters and riots that plagued Earth as a result of the "First Contact War", as humans were now calling it, left painful memories for both Tom and Jacob.

What Tom didn't understand, however, was Helena's choice. Tom personally thought that Bekenstein would be a nice place to call home, maybe even Eden Prime. Tom didn't think that moving to a predominantly asari colony (in the Traverse, no less), especially in the aftermath of a violent confrontation of a Council Race, would help take their mind of recent events.

Jacob, however, did not share Tom's concerns. Jacob was the more enthusiastic of the two when Helena told them. Tom knew exactly why: as far as physical appearances go, the asari are basically blue-skinned women who can meld minds and have weird head tendrils instead of hair.

"Don't forget that they practically never age!" Jacob told Tom one day while they were packing. This was true, as the average asari can live for up to 1000 years and, as far as the twins could tell, their looks **never** diminished.

"You do realize that each and every one of them can flay you alive with their minds?" Thomas remembered warning his brother in that same conversation.

This didn't faze Jacob, who looked even more excited as the two brothers followed Helena through the crowded docks.

_The docks_? Tom looked around in surprise. He didn't even remember leaving the shuttle. This would happen on occasion, where Tom would get lost deep in thought and set himself on autopilot for a short time.

"Our apartment is on the other side of town, according to this map." Helena stated as she held her hologram-covered hand up to her face. Helena turned the device off, her omni-tool bleeping and withering away.

Both Tom and Jacob groaned. The asari were the most advanced race in council space and yet they had no knowledge of a taxi system.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were going to live in a small settlement called "Verina", after a famous asari matriarch that neither Tom nor Jacob had ever heard of. It was located a mile and half from a prothean dig site, which Tom and Helena found cool.

The settlement was also lush with vegetation that appeared to merge perfectly with the asari architecture. The trees and the grass were as green as you could possibly get and the flowers which were radiant with color seemed to reach for the stars.

Their home was one of many prefabs (small portable homes and buildings used for starting colonies) that were located at the edge of town. These portable buildings were said to be placeholders until the colony could get some more materials for construction.

Jacob was not happy when he heard this.

To Tom it didn't seem too bad. The house was nice actually. Homely.

Tom mentally kicked himself for describing the **home** as **homely**. _That's the point you idiot._

"Isn't this nice, boys? We get our very own house!" Helena exclaimed as she practically leaped throughout the house, exploring each nook and cranny.

"It would fell nicer if I didn't feel like I could break everything here just by flicking it." Muttered Jacob as he cautiously picked up what he believed to be the remote for their small vid-projector.

"Well what did you expect Jacob? The asari are a race comprised entirely of women. Did you really expect to find any manly-men things here? Stuff here is delicate. _Feminine_." Helena replied as she moved to the next room.

Tom ran a hand through his wavy, dark brown hair. He turned toward where she left.

"They're not women Aunt Helena, they're mono-gendered." Tom corrected her, "They just look like women."

Jacob scoffed at Tom, his short military buzz cut seemed to stand up straighter.

"Tommy, my boy, if it looks like a woman, smells like a woman, and tastes like a woman, then it is a woman." Jacob declared haughtily, a shit-eating grin consuming his face.

Tom rolled his eyes at his twin.

"Okay, I can understand that you've seen an asari," Tom began, "But when the hell have you ever **tasted **one? Or even **smelled** one for that matter?"

Jacob's confidence ceased to exist.

Flustered and tomato-red, Jacob couldn't come up with a believable story quick enough to satisfy his brother. Instead, Jacob quickly started for the door.

"I'm going to check out the town."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Tom called after his brother.

"Fuck you!" was Jacob's curt response.

Thomas burst out laughing.

It was the first time he laughed since the funeral.

A "new beginning" indeed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Well there you go. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Act 1. I intend this story to be an epic set over the course of these two brother's lives through the Mass Effect universe, so it might take awhile to finish. I also have to deal with school so there might be times when I don't update for a while. Just so you guys know.

Next chapter: Jacob's out on the town and enrollment in school.


	2. Act 1: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own mass effect or any of its characters. I do own these OCs though.

Don't worry, Whatshisface v2., shenanigans will be had.

_Thoughts are in italics_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Despite his brash personality, Jacob was still able to appreciate the asari architecture. The buildings on the colony were sleek but not metallic. Like Aunt Helena said, they were graceful. Feminine.

This place wasn't like Earth. It lacked the industrial feel, the grittiness that made Jacob feel at home. It was peaceful, an oasis in the vast expanse of space.

Although it was a large metropolis like the cities that covered the Earth, it was still large enough to be considered a city. Jacob was pleasantly surprised to find that the settlement not only had at least two multiplex theaters, but quite a few clubs aswell. He would check those out later though. Right now he was sitting in a small café, enjoying a sweet, honey-flavored drink that he believed was called, "Wasera" or "Wazzir" or something.

From his table near the back of the café, Jacob could see everyone who entered the small restaurant. Every so often, two or three asari would walk into the café and cast Jacob a few curious glances. Sometimes even a salarian or two would pop in. They, however, only appeared mildly interested in the human sitting in the back. They would stare at him for no more than a few seconds and then carried on with their business as if Jacob weren't there.

It was in the café that Jacob realized that asari are not good at gossiping, as Jacob could hear their supposedly "hushed" conversations all the way across the room. Jacob would hear the words "human" and "interesting" come up the most. Once in a while though, Jacob would hear a comment on "those weird growths on it's head". _You're one to talk lady, _thought Jacob.

That last comment actually hurt Jacob a little inside. He didn't like being referred to as an "it".

As he stood up from his chair to leave, he locked eyes with a peculiar asari as she entered the café with what appeared to be her sister or mother (Jacob just couldn't tell: Asari **NEVER** age). She looked shy, in contrast to other asari who appeared to be, as a whole, a very social species.

Jacob noticed that she appeared to be nervous as she started shifting on her feet, squirming under his gaze.

Jacob wanted to show her that he meant no harm. So he flashed his trademark "Jacob smile" in the hope that she would smile back.

He thought he caught the faintest hint of a small grin before the asari pulled aside by her sister/mother (they **NEVER** age), who scowled at Jacob before taking the other asari by the wrist and leaving the café just as quickly as they entered.

As the two walked away, the shy asari turned and gave him an apologetic look.

Jacob stood there dumbfounded and a little insulted. A moment later, Thomas walked into the café. He looked at Jacob with a half relieved, half annoyed expression on his face.

"You've been **here** this entire time?" Thomas asked in disbelief.

Jacob scowled at Thomas and continued through the door, bumping his twin's shoulder as he did so.

"You seem surprised." Said Jacob as he walked out into the empty street.

"It's just that I never pegged you for the "small, quaint café" type." Jacob could hear the shit-eating grin on his brother's voice.

Jacob kept walking down the narrow road. There was no traffic to speak of on the settlement. Jacob heard that some of the larger cities on the colony had lots of vehicles and transportation, but not here.

_These asari must be obsessed with walking. Maybe that's why you don't see any fat ones._ Jacob laughed to himself. Jacob was now a good distance in front of Tom, heading back home.

"Jacob, we should head home. Helena wants us to get up early in the morning so we can get our classes worked out with the Dean or something." Thomas called out to Jacob from back down the road.

Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He had forgotten that even though they moved to an asari colony, the two brothers still had to have one more year of education before being able to apply to colleges. Helena could've home schooled them but she wanted the two brothers to "socialize".

The brash twin looked past the prefabs, out at the horizon. The moon was a bluish-green color, contrasting with the colony's red-ish sky. By this time the intellectual twin had caught up with him. The two brothers did not say another word as they made their way back to their home.

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One word that could describe the feeling of the "Dean's" (did the asari even use the word "dean"?) office was, "Awkward". The Dean, or who Helena assumed was the Dean sat across from the three humans. The office was located at the center of the settlement, in a small, nondescript building. The office building's purpose was to hold all educational enrollment information apparently.

_Why couldn't they have this __**at **__the school?_, thought Thomas.

The asari sitting at her rather larger-than-necessary desk could only be described as "sharp".

Her clothes looked as if they could slice clean through your arm if you so much as brushed up against her. Her face had hawk-like features. Her nose protruded from her face and bent down, like a beak. Even her tendrils seemed like they could impale you with extreme prejudice. Unlike other asari, her tendrils were straight, like a turian's.

The asari stared at the two twins and their aunt with a look of annoyance and disgust.

Helena, oblivious to the obvious hate coming from the asari, stared back with a bright smile.

The two feelings of happiness and hate were having a massive battle for control of the room and it was making the twins uncomfortable as hell.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the asari inhaled deeply through her nose and leaned forward, her hand coming together over her desk.

"it is my understanding that you wish for you two sons-"

"Nephews." Thomas corrected the asari. The asari shot him a withering glare. Thomas broke eye contact, now quite afraid.

He noticed Helena giving him a look he couldn't quite recognize. Not sadness…disappointment.

"I see. 'Nephews'." Continued the asari who was still peeved at being interrupted, "You wish to enroll your nephews into one of our educational facilities, is that correct?"

"Correct, miss…." Helena said, wishing she had learned the asari's name.

"You will refer to me as 'Mistress Casanni'" snapped Casanni.

_What a bitch_, thought the three humans.

"Why not home-school them? You could easily download classes using your omni-tool." Casanni stated as if trying to find an alternative to letting humans defile her school.

"I want my nephews to socialize, which is impossible staying at home all day. They need to make friends, ever since…." Helena caught herself before she said anything bad. She cast a quick glance at Thomas and Jacob, relieved that they look bored and most likely not paying attention.

Casanni did not notice any of this and let out a heavy sigh, defeated. She knew that battle was lost when the human caretaker mentioned socializing. She, as an asari, had to respect that. She typed a few keys on the console that sat on her desk. Small beeps erupted from the computer. Casanni turned to the three humans.

"Since my species live long lives, our schools don't work the way you're used to. We have no concept of 'high school' as you humans call it. The closest thing we have to that are universities, one of which you will attend." Casanni stated in a bored tone, typing a few more keys on her console.

A small box on her desk whirred to life. Two slips of paper came out through a small slit on top. The box was a small printer! Thomas couldn't believe an advanced race like the asari would still use a device like that.

"You two will attend the University of Verina for one year. These are your schedules. Don't lose them. They are classes similar to what other humans of equal age are taking. School starts in four weeks. Goodbye." Casanni simply went back to work, ignoring the three dumbfounded humans. With nothing else to do there, Helena, Thomas, and Jacob all got up and left Casanni's office.

The fact that it was early in the morning meant that hardly anyone had shown up at office yet. The hall outside Casanni's room was devoid of life, bar the three humans.

"So do we just go home now or what?" Jacob asked impatiently.

Helena let out a disappointed sigh. She really wanted to meet people and make friends. So far, she was treated coldly.

"Yeah, let's go home." Helena muttered, leading the two twins down the empty hall and out onto the emptier street.

Despite the small victory with Casanni, the walk home was depressingly quiet.

Suddenly, Jacob broke the silence

"What the hell are we going to do for four weeks?"


	3. Act 1: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own mass effect or any of its characters. I do own these OCs though.

Thank you, TheEnglishDevil and Whatshisface v.2 for your positive attitudes. I appreciate you took the time to review my story.

P.S. – I am putting my other story, "Movie Magic: Mass Effect Edition", on a short hiatus so I can focus on this one. Sorry for the inconvenience. I am also re-titled this story because the current title wouldn't make sense later on.

_Thoughts are in italics_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The university was not really what Tom or Jacob expected. It wasn't a large jumble of strange buildings like what Jacob expected. It resembled a regular college campus back on Earth. Even Tom was surprised. Maybe even a little disappointed. Tom had expected something more graceful.

As the two brothers made their way to the campus they quickly checked their outfits, looking for anything out of place. The two brothers (or at least Tom) wanted to make a good impression on the other species and not appear as freaky aliens with weird clothes. Tom wore a black button up shirt, dark blue jeans, and his nice dress shoes. Jacob wore a brown hoodie, a pair of black jeans, and steal toed boots.

Asari were scattered across the campus, in little cliques, chatting with their groups of friends. Tom felt odd, noticing several glances cast in his and Jacob's direction.

Jacob, on the other hand, was flashing his "Jacob smile" towards rather shy-looking asari, who appeared to shrink under his gaze. They returned his smile, although their cheeks were now a darker shade of blue.

In a conversation he had with Tom last night, Jacob explained that he noticed over the years that shy girls tended to get more flustered than others when he flirted with them. Jacob concluded that if he were to go after more shy girls, he would appear more charming and handsome. Jacob told Tom that his logic was sound.

Tom responded to his brother's "logic" with a punch in the arm.

As the twins navigated through one of the many courtyards that sprinkled the campus, they couldn't help but overhear more than a few conversations as they passed by the seemingly endless cliques. Both Tom and Jacob were surprised to hear that they were the number one topic on campus. The phrase that came up the most was, "They look almost just like us!" followed by, "What are those fibers on their heads?"

As they turned to enter the main hall, Tom looked over their schedules one more time.

"It looks like we have every class together except the first. I have to go to room E45-" Tom turned to his brother and was horrified to see that he was taking off his hoodie in the middle of the courtyard, revealing a tight muscle shirt underneath.

Back on Earth, before the funeral, while Tom was indoors reading and restoring his dad's classic Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Jacob was out playing sports and lifting weights. Jacob obviously bulked up and gained the attention of several girls, turning him to the cocky bastard he is today.

Tom knew his brother was more muscular than he was. Tom also knew that muscle shirts looked ridiculous, no matter the culture or species.

Tom quickly put some distance between himself and his brother, disappearing through one of the doors in the main hall.

"Hey Tom, do you know where-", Jacob turned away from the asari who were ogling him to find that his brother was gone.

Lost and alone, Jacob began in search for a map of the campus. He started for the main office, down the main hall.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Salina T'Lan was excited. Today was the first day of classes and she was excited to see her friends again. When she arrived at the campus, she found many students had already found their friends and were grouped together in their cliques, gossiping about whatever was new or interesting. The number one topic among the asari, just ahead of the new turian patrols in the system, was the attendance of humans at the University.

Salina, like many other asari, from maidens to matriarchs, was intrigued by this new species. They were interesting, or as interesting as a species that were able to evict the turian military from their world could be.

Salina heard many rumors about humans, how they were nothing but "dumb primates" or that they were "savage and animalistic". Of course most of these rumors came from turians who were probably still sour over the "Relay 314 Incident".

The asari matriarchs were much kinder with their words. They described humans as "determined" and being "driven by a desire to better themselves". Salina also heard that the humans were both feminine and masculine, which fueled her interest.

Salina's friend, Felore Versa, did not share her excitement. When Salina met Felore outside the main hall, she found her friend to be as bored as the day they met. Felore did, however, show some excitement at her friend's arrival.

"It's nice to see you again Salina! I see you've updated your wardrobe." Felore greeted warmly. Salina was not known for having the best fashion sense and had recently made it a goal to not look as frumpy as she did the year previously. She currently had on a long, hip-hugging dress that was made from asari silks made on Thessia. The dress accomplished its goal, drawing the attention of turians and asari alike.

"Thank you Felore. You seem brighter than I last saw you." Salina replied, a smirk creeping onto her face. Felore scoffed at the jab made at her.

"It's not my fault that nothing interesting is happening! It's sad that the most exciting thing I can think of is the arrival of humans here! Yes, they **ARE** a new species, and yes, that **IS** mildly interesting, but come ON! It's been over fifty years and we **still** haven't gotten any form of public transportation!" Done venting, Felore let put a huff of frustration. Her shoulders slumped and her bored look returned to her face. Salina patted her friend's shoulder reassuringly and the two asari entered the main hall.

Xxxxxxxxxx

As Felore followed Salina down the main hall, they ran into another one of Salina's friends. Felore inwardly groaned. She disliked this particular asari greatly, Tira was her name. Tira smiled widely when she noticed Salina and made a bee-line for her friend.

Tira appeared to be carrying a rather large crate and it looked pretty heavy, even for a turian. Felore was surprised that Tira could even hold it up.

"Hello Tira!" Salina greeted her friend "What's with the box? It looks heavy."

Tira grunted, shifting on her feet, trying to find a more stable stance as she moved the box to face Salina and Felore.

"You'll see. Remember when those turians came here for their shore leave a few decades back? Gave us quite a show, huh?" said Tira, her voice strained.

Felore remembered vividly. Tira had set up several heavy crates outside her home to appear as she was just moving in when the turians arrived. Her intention was to get the "big strong turians" to carry the crates inside her house, effectively giving Tira (and the rest of the neighborhood) a nice little show that could make the most stoic matriarch hot and flustered. The asari may be mono-gendered but they are more woman than anything. Quite a few, as cliché as it sounds, still get riled up over "big muscle men".

"Are the turians back?" Salina asked excitedly. Even Felore perked up a bit.

Tira finally had to put the box down. She inhaled deeply before turning back to her two friends.

"No. The new patrol won't be here until later. This is for someone else." Tira said, just as that "someone" rounded a corner and entered the main hall, opposite from the three asari.

What a fine specimen this one was. Bulging biceps and washboard abs made Tira all hot and bothered. The rather tight shirt the human male was wearing definitely helped.

Felore, unlike Tira, did not feel the same way.

"Really Tira? That guy?" exclaimed Felore, a scowl plastered on her face.

"What's wrong with him? Just look at those arms!" retorted Tira as she ogled the human.

"The human tried to flirt with my sister a few weeks back at some café! Luckily I intervened! She's only Eighty years old! What did he think he was doing?" Felore fumed, her fists clenching with a blue aura around them.

Salina backed away cautiously, while Tira scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh please! Your sister is gorgeous!** I** would make a move on her! Plus you're only, like, a hundred! If you're allowed to date then she is too!" Tira snapped at Felore. Felore seemed to relax, if only a little, and let out a small sigh.

"I guess you're right. But I can't help but feel worried for her! She's young and I don't want anyone taking advantage of her." Felore explained.

"Yeah, yeah, really touching, now be quiet and enjoy the show!" Tira had ignored everything Felore had just said and was now holding the large crate again. The muscular human was nearby, looking at a map of the campus.

"Oooh! This box is sooooo heavy!" Tira exclaimed loudly, enough to catch the human's attention. Both Salina and Felore rolled their eyes. The human noticed Tira's struggle and walked over to her.

The human's cute little look of concern nearly made Tira swoon. Salina and Felore stood off to the side, looking the human over, appreciating the aesthetics. Salina liked the human's masculine form, especially the hind-quarters. Felore still looked bored, impassive of the human before her.

"Let me help you there, miss." The human spoke in a charming yet deep voice.

_Oh my! How assertive!_, thought Tira.

Before the human could take the crate from Tira's hands, it began to float away, a blue aura surrounding it.

"That's alright; we don't need **your** help, human." Felore declared bluntly as she held the crate up with her biotics.

The human looked surprised. He had obviously never seen anything like it before. The human stepped away from the glowing crate and continued on his way down the hall.

Once he was out of sight, Tira turned angrily to Felore, who was doubled over laughing.

"Goddess, Felore! What was that?"

"That was so cheesy, Tira! I was doing you a favor! What you were doing was like something out a cheap romance vid!" Felore struggled to get the words out, past her laughter.

"You didn't seem to object when I used that tactic on the turians!"

Salina stepped between the fuming Tira and laughing Felore, not wanting a fight to break out on the first day of classes.

"C'mon, girls, let's get to our first class. Room 501."

With that, the trio made their way down the main hall, to their first class.

Xxxxxxxxxx

There's chapter 3 for you!

Hope you enjoyed it!

Next chapter had Jacob and Tom's first class. I can tell that they are not what either of them will expect. Hilarity WILL ensue. Count on that.

Review please!


	4. Act 1: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own mass effect or any of its characters. I do own these OCs though.

Thank you, to everyone who bothered to review!

P.S. – I am **NOT** putting my other story, "Movie Magic: Mass Effect Edition", on a short hiatus so I can focus on this one. I lied about that. Sorry.

_Thoughts are in italics_

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Jacob's first class was hand to hand combat training.

Jacob immediately thought back to what Casanni had said to him and Tom four weeks earlier.

_Enrolled in classes humans my age are taking MY ASS_, thought Jacob.

As Jacob looked from his rambling instructor, who was talking about some long dead matriarch, to his other asari classmates, who appeared to be eyeing him with curiosity and interest, the anger he felt slowly drained away. After a little thinking, he concluded that he couldn't really complain. A class such as this would certainly involve a lot of… **physical** contact.

Of course, most of this physical contact would come in the form of kicks and punches, but Jacob had it in his dirty mind that he could somehow get him and his asari sparring partner into a rather **compromising** position, all sweaty and-

**WHAM! **Jacob reeled back from a quick blow to the side of his head. The person responsible was his instructor, Athyta Davos. She looked very pissed off at the audacious human, and rightfully so. The disrespectful boy was not even paying attention to the lesson!

The other asari in the sparring room giggled at their human classmate's misfortune.

Jacob cast them a playful half-scowl, half-smirk. Despite being aliens, Jacob found that the asari on this colony were nearly the same as human women, and, predictably, reacted the same way to his flirtatious attitude as a human girl would.

A few classmates smile back, some grew a deeper shade of blue or purple. Instructor Athyta, however, was not amused by this. She gave Jacob a disapproving glare before returning to her lesson.

"Today we will be learning to dispatch foes at close range! My contact with the commandoes, who is back on Thessia, has graciously sent us several guides which teach new techniques!" Athyta's voice echoed throughout the large matted gym-like room. Athyta spoke up once again.

"I will need a volunteer for this demonstration!" stated Athyta. She scanned the crowd for any offers. The asari in the class were either new; too timid to step up or had been in the class long enough to know that volunteering was a **VERY** bad idea.

Jacob, however, was **not** timid and did **not** know that volunteering was a bad idea. Jacob raised his hand eagerly.

Athyta noticed this and let out a huff of annoyance. An idea formed in Athyta's mind and she grinned evilly at the unsuspecting human.

"Ah, **Jacob**, come help me demonstrate." She purred. Jacob was startled at her change in tone towards him. He didn't know whether to be aroused or afraid. Jacob's mind settled on both.

Jacob, with a confident smile on his face, stepped forward, albeit slightly hunched over, not noticing the looks of sympathy he was getting from his classmates. Soon he and Athyta were in the center of the room, facing each other.

"So… what do you need me to do?" Jacob asked, wariness creeping into his normally haughty tone.

Athyta smirked, an evil look in her eyes. It unnerved Jacob.

"All you need to do, boy, is attack me. I will block and retaliate." She stated plainly.

"Are you sure? Just come at you?" Jacob felt awkward attacking a lovely lady like Athyta. Jacob was a ladies' man that was for sure, but he was raised to treat women like queens. Besides, he had been told that the rewards for doing so were… substantial. It may have been a little sexist, but Jacob's dad made damn sure that chivalry wasn't dead.

"With everything you've got human!" Athyta taunted.

Jacob grinned confidently in response to the challenge but he still felt weird about attacking Athyta. He didn't want to hurt her but he didn't want to insult her either.

Jacob and Athyta slowly circled each other. Athyta watched Jacob intently, trying to read his movements. The other students were deathly silent, their eyes shifting from Athyta to Jacob and back, waiting to see who would be the first person to make the first move.

That person would be Jacob, who began running forward, low and with his right arm pulled back. His intent was to get a gut shot, take the air out of her lungs. Unfortunately, Jacob was not an experienced fighter. Athyta, on the other hand, had over four hundred years of experience.

Athyta blocked the attack easily and retaliated by dropping low, and drove her elbow into Jacob's gut.

The air in Jacob's lungs was forced out. The feeling was unpleasant, to say the least.

Jacob doubled over, gasping for air. Athyta stood over him, a smug grin plastered on her face. She suddenly didn't seem so lovely anymore.

The other students winced, as if they felt Jacob's pain.

"Aw, are you okay? Did you get a wittle boo-boo?" Athyta asked in a mockingly sweet tone. The other students felt embarrassed for their teacher. She was not making a good impression on the human.

Jacob inhaled deeply, casting a withering glare at the asari instructor. She was mocking him! If there was one thing Jacob hated more than anything, it was not being taken seriously.

Jacob mentally pushed the pain aside, and stood at his full height, looking down on Athyta. He was at least a head taller than everyone in the room save for two or three students.

Athyta's face betrayed no emotions, save for a lingering smugness. It made Jacob even angrier. The tension in the room was now causing the other nervous students to cautiously inch away from the dueling duo.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Athyta was inwardly laughing at the human's attempt to best her in hand-to-hand. At the same time she was mentally berating herself for allowing it to go to her head. The human was obviously young, with absolutely no professional experience in fighting.

The human was, however, at the peak of his physical condition, made **very** apparent by his ridiculously tight shirt, gracing the eyes of the younger asari students on campus.

A toned body, as nice as it may seem, does not help one bit when you don't know anything about fighting.

The human was completely predictable.

Jacob took jabs at Athyta's sides, just as she expected.

Athyta blocked both attacks and kicked Jacob's legs out from under him. Jacob crumpled to the floor with a loud thud that thundered throughout the gym.

For a fleeting second, Athyta felt sympathy for the human boy. He didn't do anything to deserve being humiliated like this but Athyta needed to enforce her authority. The human was also overly confident, what with his tight shirt, so it couldn't hurt to take him down a peg.

Athyta expected every move Jacob made before he made it. After a few minutes, Jacob was obviously getting frustrated. Just as Athyta expected, Jacob would go for her sides, and just as she expected, Jacob would end up on the floor.

What Athyta **didn't** expect was Jacob to immediately get back up and, with a growl, charge at her head on. Jacob ran at her, eyes wide and wild, an angry scowl fixed on his face. It was something Athyta couldn't block.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Jacob drove his shoulder into Athyta's stomach and wrapped his arms around her waist, effectively tackling her. Jacob and Athyta hit the floor in a tangle of peach and blue limbs.

Somehow, Jacob ended up on top, one arm on each side of Athyta's head. Athyta had her legs wrapped around Jacob's waist, crossed right above his butt. The two looked at each other, their faces inches apart.

It was only until then that Jacob realizes how intimate this position was. He was holding Athyta very close to him and his blood was pumping fast…

"Do you have something in your pocket, Jacob? I can feel something against my thigh." Jacob heard his teacher ask.

Oh crap.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Tom's first class was advanced biotic training.

Tom had never felt more stupid and out of place in his life.

When the teacher entered the large empty room, save for several large white blocks and the students, she began to call out maneuvers which the students began to attempt on the blocks.

Meanwhile, Tom just stood there, too confused to speak. The teacher, a stern looking asari, noticed Tom's inactivity, and made a beeline for the lazy human.

"It is just like a human to think that they can do whatever they want! Is there a specific reason that you are outright ignoring my instructions?" hissed the asari, venom dripping from her shrill voice.

Tom turned to face his accuser, having finally found his ability to speak.

"No you don't understand-." Tom began, attempting to reasonably explain his predicament.

"I think I understand just fine, human. Your species thinks they can do whatever they want! Like opening any dormant relays you find!" The xenophobic asari cut him off, drawing the attention of the class.

Tom was taken aback by the blatant racism. He quickly composed himself and scowled at the teacher.

"I don't think you do understand. There's obviously a misunderstanding here. I just got a mix-up in my schedule, is all. The system signed me up for a biotics class when I'm not a biotic." Tom explained, trying to keep his cool.

The asari half chuckled, half scoffed at Tom.

"Ignorant human, our system does NOT make mistakes. You've been setting off eezo sensors since you arrived weeks ago! Hmff, only a human could go so long and not realize that they're a biotic!"

Tom would've been surprised had he not began losing himself to anger. He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. His normally calm mind was a frenzy of angry thoughts towards the racist teacher.

The elder asari continued her tirade against humanity with passionate vigor. The other students, who were looking on in curiosity, seemed to disapprove of their teacher's behavior. Only one or two seemed to actually agree, chuckling at Tom's expense.

"Your species provides **NOTHING** for the good of the galaxy! The turians should have bombarded that hunk of rock you call a plant until it was a collection of dust!"

That last comment drew surprised gasps from the crowd of students in the room. They looked fearfully at Tom, afraid their teacher may have kicked a hornet's nest. A few backed away, finally noticing that Tom's hands were glowing blue.

Tom had been on the edge, and the teacher just pushed him into an abyss of fury. He felt weird, his vision distorted by a blue aura.

Suddenly, Tom felt his anger leave his body in the form a huge blue wave that exploded in all directions.

Blocks and asari were thrown against the walls of the room. The shockwave had shattered every window.

Tom looked around in utter shock. He couldn't believe that had just happened. Tom heard a groan from across the room.

The teacher was slowing getting up, clutching her left arm, she didn't appear to be hurt too bad, but she looked afraid as hell. She stared at Tom, fear in her eyes.

Tom snapped back to reality and without a second thought, bolted for the door, leaving the frightened asari in his destructive wake.

Tom kept running until the campus was far behind him. He didn't know where he was going. He just wanted to get away.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

There's Chapter 4! Hope you enjoyed it! I'll try to be more consistent with my updates from now on!

Review Please!


	5. Act 1: Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own mass effect or any of its characters. I do own these OCs though.

Wow. I never thought that the recent chapter would get such a boost in reviews! Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read my story. I'm even happier that you guys enjoy it! Enjoy chapter 5!

_**Thoughts are in italics. And bold.**_

**8**

**8**

**8**

"So you just ran out of the room? You skipped the whole first day of classes? Jesus, Tom! That's something that I usually end up doing!" Jacob exclaimed, drawing the attention of the occupants of the small nightclub the two brothers now resided in.

Tom and Jacob McCreary were sitting across from one another in a small booth, near the back of the club. Despite their best attempts to stay conspicuous, the two humans still received curious glances from the dancing patrons. Jacob's overall loudness only served to amplify the attention that the two received.

Tom sulked in his seat, trying to hide himself from the curious onlookers, embarrassed by his brother's outburst; Ashamed at his own stupidity.

After the incident during his biotics class, Tom had run away from the campus and sought refuge in a small nightclub on the edge of the settlement, hoping to have some time alone, in order to come to terms with his situation (and to escape embarrassment for running out on his first class). So far: no dice.

"How did you even find me?" Tom questioned his brother, desperately trying to change the subject.

Jacob gasped, and recoiled as if being struck.

"Brother! I'm offended at your lack of faith in me!"

Tom jumped at Jacob's loud response and sunk even lower in his seat.

Quite a few people looked over at the pair curiously, giving Tom dirty looks.

Jacob noticed the glares his brother was receiving and giggled like an idiot. Tom gave the muscular douche he called his brother a piercing glare. Jacob laughed harder.

"I'm just messing with you, Tommy! You see, these aliens, I'm sure lying isn't anything new to them, but **acting**, acting is pretty new. If you've seen any of their so called "movies", they're just reenactments or documentaries. So even the most horrendous acting, at least by our standards, is pretty convincing. Did you see the way they reacted to my B-movie – no wait, **Z-movie** performance?"

Tom's glare was still fixed on Jacob.

"You still didn't answer my question." Tom growled. Jacob's smirk dropped off his face, the fun now gone.

"I'm smarter than you think, bro. I knew you'd hide where **you** would think me or Helena wouldn't expect to find you. In this case, a nightclub. I know you hate nightclubs, therefore I knew you would hide here because you thought that **I** would assume that you **wouldn't** hide here. Get it?"

Tom simply stared at Jacob, amazed that the meat-head could use logic. Jacob laughed at his brother's amazement.

Tom let out a sigh of defeat and, to Jacob's surprise, actually sank **lower** into his seat. Jacob spoke up again.

"Speaking of Helena, she's worried sick about you. She got a message from that prude, Cassani. The prude was pissed that she let us into the school and you didn't even show up for the first day of classes." Jacob explained, "Since you are the scholar of the two of us, she assumed the only way for you to miss classes was if something really bad happened to you. Don't you think it's time to go home and put our poor aunt at ease?"

_**Wow, meat-head has a heart, thought Tom.**_

Tom wasn't ready to leave, however.

"I'll go when I want to!" Tom snapped. Jacob reeled back, as if Tom tried to bite him. Tom loudly exhaled and sat back up in his chair. He waved a waitress over. The turquoise asari strutted over, appearing to be uncomfortable in her skintight uniform.

The asari noticed Jacob leering at her and shot him a disgusted look. Jacob looked rather surprised. Girls usually loved the fact that they had his attention.

"Can we get two beers, please?" Tom asked politely. The waitress just stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

It took a second for Tom to realize what was wrong.

_**Aliens. Right.**_

"Something with alcohol, please." Tom corrected. The waitress nodded in understanding and headed back towards the bar.

"You're too young for alcohol, Tom." Jacob stated, a bored look on his face.

"They don't care," Tom replied, motioning towards the growing crowd of aliens, then turning back to Jacob, "Do you?"

"Nope."

The two brothers sat in silence until the waitress returned with two tall glasses of luminescent green liquid. Before Jacob could protest against it, Tom had downed half of his in one gulp.

"Pretty good at swallowing, I see. Have lots of practice?" Jacob couldn't help himself when opportunities such as this arose. The asari waitress let out a squeak in shock, dropping the tray she was carrying, and covered her mouth with her hands. Flushed a deep blue, the waitress quickly ran back to the bar.

Tom turned to his brother, trying his best not to squirt the drink out his nose.

"You're a horrible person, you know that?"

"Yep." Jacob replied.

Techno music filled the air, replacing the modest tunes that were previously playing. The patrons flooded the dance-floor.

"We are quite a pair, aren't we Jacob? We're two orphans, living on an asari colony in the middle of the Traverse for apparently no good reason, you're a misogynistic xenophile, and I'm a motorcycle-riding, intellectual biotic." Tom said, exasperated, as if he himself couldn't believe it. In truth he really couldn't. It all felt like a weird dream he would have after eating hot wings before going to bed.

Jacob shared his brother's disbelief. He raised his glass to Tom's.

"Cheers."

**8**

**8**

**8**

18-year-old turian cadet Korra Oraka was, at the moment, very disgruntled. She was silently berating herself for allowing her brother, Varris, to convince her to go out on the town with his friends. His friends, for the most part, were xenophobic idiots just like her Varris.

Araegus Verrikan was the exception. Unlike Korra's brother, who bought into their father's "patriotic" turian dominance ideals, Araegus shared Korra's opinion that the turians needed to learn that they were just another race in the galaxy.

Korra had lost count of the time she saw fellow turians (mostly male) strut around the Citadel or alien colony worlds like they owned it. It wasn't confidence. Confidence would've been charming, to say the least. What Korra saw were people who thought that they were better than other species. Varris was much worse.

Every moment that didn't involve training or patronizing people of other species was spent talking about how awesome the turians were or how less awesome the other species were.

To Varris, the asari were the turian male's submissive sex puppets. The salarians were too frail and nerdy. The krogan were too dumb and had small penises (Korra was afraid to ask **HOW** Varris knew that). The drell were worthless fish people. Humans were hairless primates that needed to be put in their place as servants of the hierarchy. Varris would go on and on. It wasn't patriotism, it was blatant racism.

And yet there she stood, outside a small nightclub on the edge of the settlement with Araegus, her brother, and his friends. There was a slight delay getting into the club as Araegus tried to convince the elcor bouncer to let them in. When it appeared that the elcor wasn't going to cut them any slack, Korra saw Araegus slip a credit chit into the elcor's pocket. It took a while due to the elcor's strange anatomy, but Araegus managed.

Before Korra knew it, they were inside the club. It was a nice enough place, good music and a charismatic bartender usually made a good combination.

A she was sitting at the bar enjoying her dextro-drink, Korra felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Araegus, who was smiling sheepishly at her. He motioned over to the dance floor where Korra saw that Varris wasted no time getting to know the asari patrons.

Varris would've been doing alright for himself if not for his arrogance. Turns out, acting superior to others is a turn off. Who knew?

"We'er going to have to watch him, you know." Declared Araegus, both amused and embarrassed at Varris' antics, as he downed a shot of glowing blue liquid.

"Yeah, I know." Korra Replied without an ounce of femininity. Korra and Araegus were good friends but that's all that they were. No need for her to "girl" it up for flirting. In fact, she rarely acted like a "proper" women. Turian guys were usually never interested.

Suddenly a large figure shuffled next to Araegus, bumping him a little as it leaned on the bar. The figure turned out to be a rather muscular human, wearing an absurdly tight shirt.

"Hello alien friends! Good night to get shit-faced, am I right?" the human was slightly drunk with a wild look in his eyes. He (or at least Korra thought it was a he) had a charming smile plastered on his face.

Korra found herself staring at his muscular arms a little too long. Another reason why she disapproved of her brother's xenophobic views and probably why she never had much luck with turian men. Korra was a xenophile. Drell and quarians mostly, and she did have quite an experience with an asari a few months before shipping out.

Rather than overreact like Varris would, Araegus responded to the human warmly.

"Greetings human, I see you are enjoying yourself. By 'shit-faced', I assume you mean, 'get drunk'?"

"You bet fork-face!" the human exclaimed. Korra had heard that humans were… characters.

"Unpredictable and fun to watch", is what a cute salarian told her while she was on the Citadel.

"Fork-face? What's a fork?" asked Araegus, momentarily confused. The human laughed and Araegus laughed with him. Or at least Korra thought it was a "him". The deep, husky voice was a good sign.

_**Spirits, let it be a "him"!**_

"Nothing important. You got a name soldier?" the human gave Araegus a mock salute.

_**How did he know they were military?, thought Korra**_

Korra only then noticed that Araegus was in uniform. Araegus and Varris were the only two who wore their uniforms when going out. While Varris wore his to help him flirt, Araegus wore his out of pride in his ship.

"My name is Araegus Verrikan." Stated Araegus politely, before quickly adding, "Cadet."

The human smiled and held out his hand. Araegus simply stared at the outstretched hand, confused. The human rolled his eyes.

"Just take my damned hand, would you!" ordered the human.

Startled, Araegus clamped his talons over the human's fleshy hand. **Hard**.

Realizing what he had just done, the embarrassed turian cadet gave the human an apologetic look.

If the human felt pain, he didn't show it. He simply grinned (or at least Korra thought he was grinning) at Araegus and shook his hand. Araegus didn't know what to do, so he just went with it.

"It's nice to meet you, Gus! Name's Jacob! Jacob McCreary!" Jacob introduced himself enthusiastically.

"I'm sorry, 'Gus'?" questioned Araegus, who was growing increasingly confused by the charming human.

"It's a nickname, buddy! Human thing! We like to shorten names, make them easier to pronounce!" explained Jacob, amused at the turian's confusion.

"So I'm, 'Gus', huh? What do you think Kor'?" Araegus nudged Korra, while applying the new human technique to his friend's name.

Korra smiled at Araegus and uncharacteristically giggled.

"Seems interesting, Jacob!" Korra replied, sounding more feminine and bubbly than she thought.

Jacob looked shocked, his eyes wide.

"Good God, You're a woman!" He declared loudly, as if confirming it for himself.

Araegus couldn't help but burst out laughing. Korra felt more embarrassed and insulted than she'd ever felt in her life.

**8**

**8**

**8**

Jacob fucked up. He **royally** fucked up.

As he looked apologetically at the turian girl, she appeared to shrink under his gaze. She looked hurt and it always pained him to see any girl like this.

Jacob needed to make it right. He was a gentleman, damn it! If there was ever a time to be chivalrous, it was now!

**8**

**8**

**8**

The human spoke up again.

"Actually, I'm having a little trouble **not** staring at you now. Has anyone told you that your fringe looks lovely tonight?"

Korra straightened immediately. Jacob's tone was different now. He wasn't yelling like before but she heard it clearly. His voice was warm, inviting.

Korra just stared at him, not comprehending.

'Gus' took this as his queue to leave.

"You two have fun." Gus said nervously as he quickly made his way to the other side of the club.

Korra's heart was pounding. She tried to speak but her mouth just wouldn't make words.

The idea of a human speaking in such a way to her was almost too much. The mere thought that this human was attracted to her, thrilled Korra more than she'd ever admit.

By the time Korra regained her composure, Jacob had one hand held out to her. It was different than the handshake he had with Gus. Instead of on its side, the palm was facing towards the ceiling.

"Care to dance, miss…?" Invited Jacob, who flashed his 'Jacob smile'.

Korra melted.

"It's Korra!" she said almost too quickly.

"Alright then. Care to dance, Korra?" Jacob asked again, still smiling.

Korra gently wrapped her talons around Jacob's hand and let him guide her to the dance floor.

**8**

**8**

**8**

"Hey, weren't you just over there?"

Tom turned around in his seat to see a uniformed turian looking at him quizzically. The turian was motioning back towards the bar, across the dance floor.

At first, Tom didn't understand what the turian was referring to. Then he remembered he had an identical twin brother.

"You look different though. Skinnier. Are the drinks here that bad?" the turian continued.

"I think you met my brother. Human females sometimes have more than one child at once, and sometimes the children are identical." Tom explained, amazed at his own ability to speak coherently. Hadn't he had, like, three drinks?

"You humans are certainly different, I'll give you that," The turian sat down in the booth, across from Tom, "My name's Gus."

Tom's eyebrows shot up.

_**Gus? A human name?**_

Gus noticed the look of surprise on Tom's face.

"Your brother, Jacob, he introduced me to the concept of 'nicknames'. I like it so far."

Tom smiled at his brother's attempts at cultural assimilation. He stuck his hand out to Gus and, to Tom's surprise, Gus knew what to do.

As they shook hands, Tom spoke up.

"I'm Tom. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Gus. Are you military?" Tom's voice got lower near the end, adopting a darker tone. He was pointing at Gus' uniform.

"Me and me squadron graduated as cadets around six months ago. This is our first assignment off-world that isn't on the Citadel. Easy-enough, all we do is patrol the system. We may find some mineral rich rocks out there, but not much else. This colony, what do they call it, "Verina"? Well, this colony is the only place worthy of our shore leave. Now we're here." Gus explained.

_**Six months ago? Not part of Shanxi then.**_

Tom appeared to relax, as did Gus.

"My brother hasn't been causing too much trouble, has he?" Tom asked, downing another shot of green liquid. "He's a shameless xenophile!"

Gus laughed at Tom's description of his brother.

"That he is. He took one of my female friends off to dance!"

"Horny Bastard!" Tom exclaimed, startling Gus and nearby patrons. Unfortunately, one of those patrons happened to be Varris Oraka.

**8**

**8**

**8**

As Jacob was having a surprisingly good time dancing with Korra, he noticed that many of his preconceptions about turians were wrong.

As it turned out, they were not all butch, military meat-heads. Korra proved him wrong by acting… well, normal. She giggled and she flirted. Like any other person back on Earth, she just wanted to have a good time. It didn't matter who with.

Another thing that surprised Jacob was how soft she was. When the two began grinding during an appropriate song, Jacob expected to get poked and chafed to hell. Instead, as he ran his hand over her feminine hips, he found her skin to be rather smooth, slightly less malleable than a humans or asari, but just as sensitive.

The music stopped and, to Jacob's disappointment, so did Korra's grinding. The salarian DJ shrugged apologetically as he frantically searched for the problem at his station.

Korra turned to Jacob, gently placing a taloned hand on his chest.

"I'm having a great time, Jacob! Do you want to get a couple drinks?" Korra had recently adopted a bubbly tone that drove Jacob wild.

Korra ran her hand over his chest and down his abdomen. Jacob almost laughed.

_**My God, She's feeling me up, thought Jacob.**_

Jacob nodded and the odd couple made their way to the bar.

They made it half-way before a blue-hued form flew across the room and smashed against the wall. The object shattered and pieces of what had once been a chair cluttered to the floor.

The patrons went deathly silent as two voices cut through the air.

"**Fucking racist trash! Burn in hell!"**

"**Fuck you, primate! We should've burned your world to the ground!**

Another chair went flying, this time crashing through a window and into the street outside.

Throught the now open window, Korra could hear the elcor bouncer begin to panic.

"Absolutely Terrified. What is going on in there?"

Jacob and Korra pushed through the crowd just in time for Jacob to catch Tom, who fell backwards into Jacob.

Varris, face bloody and missing part of one mandible, looked absolutely pissed. Behind him were his buddies (sans Gus), ready to back him up.

"Biotic will only get you so far, Primate. Time to put you in your place!" Varris hissed.

Jacob looked at Tom, who simply shrugged.

"The fork-head was talking shit about Shanxi, Jake." Tom explained.

Jacob rolled his eyes.

"What is this, galactic sibling switch day? I thought you were the smart one! Stop doing things that I would do!" Jacob chastised Tom.

"Jacob, you and your brother better get out of here." Korra warned as her brother and his cronies closed in on them.

Tom exhaled loudly.

"This day just keep getting better doesn't it?"

**8**

**8**

**8**

Well, there you have it folks! My longest chapter so far!

Jacob will definitely fuck anything, won't he?

*mini-rant begin*

Sorry if you're weirded out by the turian/human thing. It just that I see **SO** many male turian/female human teenage-fangirl stories on here that it's almost infuriating. Why doesn't the male human get any love, huh? Or how about MaleShepard in general?

I'm tired of people saying that MShep is bad character because of his voice acting! That doesn't even make any sense! It's all up to the player to make the character the way he/she is.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate FShep. I like Jennifer Hale. I have a few FShep playthroughs myself (romanced Garrus, cuz he's a bro). But there is a big difference between preferring one voice actor to another and having your ovaries flare up with female empowerment to the point of running around forums busting balls and ripping the dicks off guys (or girls) who say anything against Jennifer Hale (**Just kidding girls, please don't kill me**).

What I meant to say was, there is a big difference between preferring one voice actor to another and absolutely hating on one voice actor for no reason (seriously, Mark Meer is a good guy, and deserves **NONE** of the crap he gets).

*not-so-mini-rant done*

Whew.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Review please!


	6. Act 1: Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own mass effect or any of its characters. I do own these OCs though.

Sorry for the hold up, folks! I was busy with other stories, which you should definitely check out! Anyway, here's my latest monster of a chapter!

**Note: As for the reviews, thank you! However, if you do not like my story and intend to leave a review, then at the very least have the decency to give constructive criticism, telling me what exactly you thought was wrong with my writing and not vague, one-sentence quips.**

_**Thoughts are in italics. And bold.**_

**8**

**8**

**8**

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one! The straight man! How could you be so irresponsible? This is something I would expect Jacob to do!"

Tom and Jacob had seen Helena angry before, but definitely not of this magnitude. Now, Helena was truly pissed, and all her volcanic anger was directed at them.

Tom and Jacob were sitting in the living room their pre-fab home, holding ice packs to their heads and other injured areas, while at the same time applying medi-gel to their bloodied knuckles. Helena was pacing back and forth in front of them, wringing her wrists.

"Not only were you drinking while underage, but you had it in your mind to start a goddamn bar-room brawl! Over a thousand credits in damage, which I-, no, **WE**, have to pay for! What the hell were you thinking?" Helena screamed, her face red. Tom looked up at her, his eyes watery.

"Was I just supposed to sit there and let some fucking turian shit on dad's memory?" Tom snapped, rising from the chair, ignoring the pain in his leg from when he kicked the racist turian in the face.

Helena's expression softened, as did her voice. She reached out and reassuringly touched his shoulder.

"You're supposed to take it, Tom. You're supposed to be the bigger man. What you did tonight did not help how the galaxy views humanity." Helena was trying to get through to the sensible Tom that she knew was in there someplace.

"Who gives a damn how the rest of the galaxy views-" began Tom, but Helena was having none of it.

"You're father did! That's why he joined the Alliance, Tom!" Helena sniffed, wiping a tear from her cheek, before she continued, "He wanted the chance to discover alien life and to be sure that what the aliens saw was the best humanity had to offer. The galaxy thinks of us as impulsive, trigger happy primates. When you go off and do things like tonight, you're only proving them right."

Tom winced as if he had been slapped.

"Your father didn't want you to be some sort of xenophobe." Helena said.

Tom's jaw tightened. He glared at Helena.

"He didn't want to die, either." Tom whispered. He slowly limped to his room and locked the door.

Jacob was left with Helena, sitting quietly in the living room, amidst an awkward silence. After about a minute, Jacob attempted to leave as well, but Helena stopped him.

"Don't think that you're off the hook, mister."

Jacob gulped.

"Besides drinking, what is this I hear of you '_grinding with a turian girl_'?" Helena continued.

**Crap.**

**8**

**8**

**8**

"By the spirits, Varris! What is wrong with you?" Korra scolded her brother, her tone dripping with a mix of annoyance and anger.

Varris grunted as he applied medi-gel to his maimed face. Damned primate had kicked him right in the mandible before running away! Varris' right mandible was bent inwards causing the tip to poke out, away from his face slightly.

"The fucking human was disrespectful to me and Araegus!" Varris cursed as he quickly rubbed his deformed mandible. The ship's doctor had told him to not talk as much until his mandible healed. For Varris, this was nigh-impossible.

Korra glanced over at Gus who simply shook his head. Varris was exaggerating, as usual.

"Why can't you play nice sometimes?" Korra pleaded to her brother.

"I do play nice! I treat others exactly as they should be treated, as submissive servants of the Hierarchy!" Varris exclaimed and was soon greeted with an intense pain in his jaw.

Korra sighed in frustration, covering her face with her hands. Gus rolled his eyes and turned to leave the med-bay.

"Feel better, brother." Korra said quietly as she followed Gus out. Varris nodded back as he rubbed his jaw.

As soon as the door behind hem sealed shut, Gus turned to Korra.

"The human, Tom was his name, I think, he never disrespected anyone." Gus explained, "Varris found us chatting in a booth near the back of the club. He apparently didn't like Tom's body language around a uniformed turian, it being me, in this case."

Korra grunted in disgust at her brother's actions.

As the two cadets made their way through the halls of the turian cruiser, Korra thought back to better times she had with her brother.

Varris wasn't always like this. Before, he was another young turian child, eager to serve the galaxy. Once the siblings were put into mandatory boot camp when they reached the age of 15, things took a turn for the worst.

Korra blamed it on the maniacal teachings of their racist superiors. Though not all of the Hierarchy's leaders were xenophobic, Korra and Varris were unlucky enough to be put under the command of one of the worst, Captain Tavik.

Tavik believed that the turians were the true rulers of the galaxy and should work towards total galactic control, absorbing the other "lesser" species as client races. The bastard believed that the other species existed only to serve or compliment the turians and that those who refuse to do either shouldn't exist at all.

Varris was a ripe mind for Tavik to infect. Over the course of their training, Varris' mind slowly fell to the disease that was Tavik's instruction. It was heartbreaking for Korra to witness.

The concerned sister thought Tavik to be a disgrace to her species. If she had the power to do anything, she would, but Tavik had too many connections in high places.

As Korra and Gus reached the barracks, Gus pulled Korra aside before they entered. He gave Korra an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry I couldn't control your brother. It's my fault that your fling got ruined." Gus dropped his head down, almost ashamed. Korra was taken aback by his guilt.

"You don't need to be sorry, Gus. It wasn't you fault." Korra assured him, before smirking and giving him a swift punch in the arm. "And it wasn't a _fling_! Jacob and I were just dancing, is all."

Gus chuckled, rubbing his sore arm. He grinned cheekily at Korra.

"Jacob, huh? You remembered the human's name! You _liiiiiike_ him, don't you?" Gus teased rather loudly, especially considering they were just outside the barracks.

Korra stared at Gus, horrified. She began to smack him, trying to get him to shut up.

"_Announce it to the whole ship, why don't you_!" Korra hissed, keeping her voice low. Gus had both hand over his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter.

"Okay, I admit it! I do like Jacob. He's charming, a lot more than most turian men nowadays." Korra whispered to Gus.

"Really, now? I must say, I'm a little offended, Korra." Gus replied, only half in jest. Korra sighed.

"You're the exception." Korra quickly added before glaring at him, slugging him in the arm again, "What do you care what a woman thinks, anyways? Aren't you attracted to other men?"

"I'm just messing with you, Korra. Calm down!" Gus laughed, rubbing his once again sore arm. "Spirits, you hit hard!"

Korra snickered and entered the barracks, heading for her bunk at the far end of the room. Other cadets were either asleep, or cleaning their weapons. As Korra crawled into her bunk, she turned back to Gus.

"Good night, Gus."

"Good night, Korra."

Korra let her head rest on her pillow and soon drifted off into a deep sleep.

She needed the rest after such a long day.

**8**

**8**

**8**

**The Next Day**

As Tom and Jacob made their way through the campus, they noticed the crowd's attitude had changed. Unlike the day before, the asari were not regarding the two humans with curiosity. Today, the overall vibe the humans felt was that of caution and a little disdain.

A few nasty looks were shot in Tom's direction, particularly. Despite this, Jacob was still the local eye candy for the young maidens (and even a few matrons and matriarchs), who swooned whenever a smile or ink was thrown in their general direction.

"Not even you can mess up my game, Tom." Jacob declared as he winked at a passing asari. Said asari scowled at him and kept walking.

This drew a small chuckle out of Tom.

"Nice game you got there, Jake! Sure got her riled up!" Tom struggled to say threw his growing laughter. Jacob shot him a death glare, a stark contrast to his charming smile.

"That asari doesn't matter anyways, besides, what about that turian girl last night?" Tom questioned, his tone now serious.

Jacob's eyes grew soft, his glare disappearing. Jacob's body seemed to relax.

"Korra was…. nice. I don't know what to do about it though. It's not like I could work between us…. could it?" Jacob asked to no one in particular.

"Aw! The xenophile's got a crush! You even remembered her name! That's a first for you!" Tom teased his brother, "Just watch out for chafing! I hear it can-_**mrph**_!"

Tom was cut short when Jacob slapped a hand over his mouth.

"You may be my brother, Tom, but if you don't learn when to shut up, I will shove your head up an elcor's ass!" hissed Jacob into Tom's ear.

Calming down, Jacob released Tom, who was trying to control his laughter.

Jacob started for the east wing of the university.

"C'mon! I've got to get you up to speed!" Jacob motioned for Tom to follow him.

**8**

**8**

**8**

"Because of your little fiasco in the biotics wing yesterday, you won't be having that class again for at least a week. I also will not be having my hand-to-hand class, as you managed to fuck up that room as well. Good job." Jacob explained as he and Tom entered a rather large room. There were two rows of tables, one on each side of the room. At each table were around three to five asari, all of whom were busy sculpting or painting.

Tom noticed there was one salarian among the students in the class. Around the salarian, gathered several asari who watched him quickly weld several pieces of junk together. When the salarian appeared to have finished, the asari applauded.

"Welcome to Fine Arts! Where, despite the rather unappealing name, we get to do some pretty cool shit." Jacob loudly continued as he led his brother down the middle aisle. Jacob's loudness drew the attention of the other students. "Our table is at the far end of the room."

Most of the asari students appeared to regard Tom with disdain, often shooting him dirty looks. Jacob was much more warmly received, as usual. Jacob surprisingly ignored the attention and brought his brother up to their table. Already seated were three other asari who Tom barely recognized.

"Hey, Salina! Hey, Tira!" Jacob greeted the two sitting across from him, before turning to the one at his side and smiled brightly, "Hello, Felore!"

Felore gave him an unenthusiastic wave, not even bothering to look.

"She hates me." Jacob whispered to Tom through gritted teeth, while still maintaining his smile.

Salina and Tira were much more enthusiastic in their responses. For one, they actually talked back.

"Nice to see you again, Jacob! Who is this? He looks just like you!" Tira was the first to speak up, catching Tom off guard with her bright, bubbly voice.

"This is Tom, my brother. I apologize in advance if he bores you to death." Tom scowled at Jacob as he stepped between Jacob and Tira.

"I can introduce myself, thank you." Tom snapped before turning to the three asari. "Name's Tom. I hope my idiot brother hasn't caused too much trouble."

Felore let out a small chuckle and smiled at Tom.

"I've known him for all of thirty seconds and I already like him!" Felore chuckled to Salina and Tira.

Jacob frowned at Felore which only fueled her rising good mood. Salina suddenly piped up.

"Why wasn't your brother here yesterday?"

Tom hesitated, not sure what to say. The three asari stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"He… uh… was assisting in the redecoration of the biotics wing." Jacob said suddenly. Tom simply stared at his brother, unsure whether to thank him for the save or smack him.

"Wait, wasn't the biotics wing nearly demolished?" asked Tira. Both Tom and Jacob went rigid.

"Uh… yeah! I'm still pretty mad about that!" Tom said, faking an angry tone. Jacob joined in to back up his brother.

"Yeah! It's a bunch of bullshit, is what it is!"

The asari now regarded Tom with sympathy. Tira placed a hand on Tom's shoulder reassuringly.

"Aw! I'm sorry your work went to waste!"

"No, really, it's fine! I did a piss-poor job anyway." Tom attempted to calm Tira down, but she was dead set on comforting the young man. The bubbly asari drew Tom into a tight hug, stroking his hair.

"Wha-?" Tura cut Tom off.

"Shhhh! It's alright! Just let it all out!"

Tom looked over Tira's shoulder to Jacob, quietly mouthing, "What the fuck!"

Jacob, who was just as confused, looked over to Salina and Felore. Both had bored expressions on their faces. Apparently, this wasn't new behavior for Tira.

Felore then adopted a questioning look on her face. She leaned over to Jacob.

"Jacob, I don't think my translator is working properly. You both used terms I didn't understand. What does 'bullshit' mean?"

Jacob's eyebrows rose. He knew he shouldn't be surprised that aliens didn't know much 'earth-slang', but he was.

"Bullshit is pretty hard to explain, because it can mean a lot of different things. When an example comes up, I'll point it out."

"Your brother also used another term. I believe it was 'piss-poor'."

"'Piss-poor' is easier to explain. It generally means a 'bad job'."

Felore nodded, although not quite getting it. She glanced over to Salina, who shrugged.

The school bell suddenly rang, filling the air with its electronic chime. Tom looked up in wonder.

"The asari use bells too? Cool!" Tom said to himself.

Jacob smiled at his brother's amazement.

"Well, if you hadn't run off-," Jacob caught himself before he slipped up, "I mean, spent the day helping redecorate, you would've known that, Tom!"

Tom shot Jacob a withering glare, while Tira gave him a quizzical look.

"But, you can still hear the bell even from-!" Jacob quickly interrupted her.

"To our next class!"

**8**

**8**

**8**

"So how is asari chemistry different than human chemistry?" asked Tom with a worried tone. He, Jacob, Felore, Salina, and several other students exited the decontamination chamber, entering the large, sterile-white lab. Several sealed beakers and tubes, all filled with strange chemicals, sat atop each workstation.

"Surprisingly, the asari made chemistry fun! Just like art class, you get to do some cool shit in here!" Raved Jacob as he picked out what looked to be two sterile white trash bags from a large rack of them. "The only downside is that you have to wear these suits and they are a bitch to get on!"

"Suits? We need to where suits?"

Jacob didn't answer. Instead, he thrust one of the trash bags into Tom's hands. They were made from a thick, leathery material.

"Put that on. Zipper is in the front. Twist the helmet to seal it." Jacob ordered. Soon, everyone was suited up.

The suits were warm on the inside, making Tom begin to sweat.

The asari professor entered and gave a single hand motion. The other students instantly formed into groups. Jacob led Tom over to a secluded table, near the back. Already seated there was Felore, Salina, and a salarian.

"Ah, welcome humans! How is life on this fine colony treating you?" The salarian greeted.

Tom relaxed. This was one of the few people who didn't meet Tom with disdain.

"Tom, Jacob. This is Doban. He's been here since last year." Felore introduced. Doban smiled at the two humans.

It was then that Tom recognized him.

"Hey, you were in our last class! You were making that sculpture!" Tom exclaimed. Jacob caught on too.

"How many classes do we have together?" asked Jacob.

Doban smiled and nodded.

"Pretty much all of them. How could you not notice?" Doban said with a mock offended tone.

Jacob gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry. I guess I didn't notice you." The muscular brother explained.

"But I'm the only salarian in the school." Doban held a serious expression on his face. Jacob and Tom shifted uncomfortably, unsure how to respond. Then, Doban burst into a fit of laughter. "I'm just joking! Relax!"

Tom and Jacob did just that.

"I don't want to sound like a weenie, but why do were these suits?" inquired Tom.

"Asari chemistry often deals with dangerous chemicals and compounds. These suits keep us alive in the event that something goes wrong." Doban responded as he poured a test tube of green liquid into a beaker.

"Sounds dangerous."

"No shit, genius! But it's more fun that way!" declared Jacob as he looked over the instruction sheet.

The group went to work.

XXXXXXXXX

Several minutes passed and the group was now working on a compound.

"The sheet says only five drops. What's the difference between five and six?" Jacob asked as he carefully applied said drops to a beaker full of a glowing blue liquid.

"Be very careful with that, Jacob! Adding too much will cause it to-!" Felore never got to finish. Tom, who was carrying a tray of supplies, bumped into his brother, causing him to spill the whole tube into the beaker.

Felore gasped.

Everyone turned to their table, horrified expressions covering their faces.

Time stood still.

"Oops. Sorry, Jaco-!" Tom's apology was interrupted by everyone in the room, save for the two humans, sprinting for the door.

Jacob didn't notice, too busy focused on the beaker which was now bubbling furiously, spilling a purple, foamy liquid over the edge.

The door to the lab sealed shut, giving off a loud hiss. Tom and Jacob stood in the middle of the empty lab, uncomprehending.

Then the beaker exploded.

A purple mist sprayed both humans, covering their suits.

"What the fuck?" Jacob exclaimed.

"**Do not panic**!" boomed an authoritative voice. Tom and Jacob looked over to the front of the room. The wall was now a screen that showed the asari teacher. Behind her, Tom and Jacob could see the rest of the class. Their faces were a mixture of worry and horror. The teacher spoke again, her voice filling the room.

"**You have released a deadly chemical agent! At the moment, it is currently dissolving your suits!**"

Tom went wide-eyed. Jacob understandably freaked out.

"Holy Shit!" He exclaimed, almost losing his balance. The asari spoke up again.

"**We are attempting to vent the gas out of the room and to turn on the sprinkler system. The water should wash away the corrosive mist. In the event that neither plan works, the antidote to the poison is underneath each table! They're in a large black box. Quickly and calmly retrieve them!"**

Jacob did what he was told but couldn't keep his hands from shaking. Tom went from shocked to angry.

"What's the point of wearing these fucking suits if they don't do shit!" Tom roared at the screen. "Who the hell makes school work this dangerous? That's fucking stupid!"

"Fuck me!" exclaimed Jacob. Tom turned to his brother and immediately understood why he said that.

In each hand, Jacob held a rather large, liquid-filled syringe. The needle on each was a good five inches.

Jacob turned to the screen. Behind the teacher he saw Felore and Salina looking on in worry.

"Hey, Felore, Salina!" Jacob called. Both asari jumped in surprise.

"You two wanted to know what 'bullshit' means! This sums it up quite nicely!"

The teacher spoke up again, this time more urgent.

"**We have yet to get either the vents or the sprinklers working! Inject the antidote into your bloodstream by pushing the syringe into your heart!"**

Jacob snapped. He whirled around to face the screen. Jacob held the syringe up for them to see. The class balked at the sight, event the teacher seemed irked by its size.

"Look at how BIG this needle is! You want me to stick THIS into my HEART! Are you fucking NUTS?" Jacob bellowed, his eyes wide.

"What if this doesn't even work for humans!" Tom asked suddenly

The teacher didn't know how to respond. Her eyes looked pleading. She didn't want them to die.

"**Inject yourselves now!"**

"This is fucked up!" Jacob cursed as he held the syringe in his outstretched hands, facing the needle toward his chest.

Tom looked on, both horrified and fascinated.

Jacob was mentally preparing himself for what he believed was going to be a most unpleasant experience. His breathing became ragged, either due to his mild panic attack or the fact that the gas may have already eaten through his suit. He had trouble holding his syringe steady. Jacob took one last breath, held the needle as steady as he could, and….

The sprinklers came on. Water sprayed both brothers, washing the chemical away.

Soon after, the vents roared to life as well.

For a moment, the two brothers stood in shock.

Then, Jacob threw his syringe across the room, as if it were on fire. He didn't want to be anywhere close to it.

He looked over to the screen once more. The teacher and students looked relieved. Jacob shouted at them.

"Get me the hell out of here! I almost stabbed myself in the fucking heart!"

**8**

**8**

**8**

The whole ordeal was pretty jarring. Tom and Jacob were still shaken up over the near-death experience. At least, that's what they said to get the rest of the day off.

Jacob took the offer rather enthusiastically and was now walking through the semi-crowded streets of the downtown. Tom was not too far behind. He knew where Jacob was going.

"Jacob! Jacob, are you listening to me? Why are you going back? They probably don't want us there after last night!" Tom was attempting to talk common sense into Jacob. Jacob, however, had long shut out his brother's voice, something he learned to do back on Earth.

The nightclub/bar that Tom and Jacob attended the previous night seemed to have been repaired rather quickly. The window was fixed, looking better since Tom put a chair threw it. The only difference was that there were now **two** elcor bouncers.

Jacob paid neither any attention, walking right up to the door.

"Intimidating tone: don't even think about going inside human-." Jacob passed them without a word and entered the bar. The two elcor just stood there, unmoving.

Tom gave each a smug smile as he walked up.

"That's some nice skills you got there." Tom snarked. The elcor sighed.

"Annoyed: it is difficult to turn around as quickly as other species."

"Right…." Tom walked passed them, following his brother inside. The two elcor were now alone once more.

"Bored: we are useless, aren't we?"

"Dejected: indeed."

XXXXXXXXXX

Tom bumped into Jacob when he got inside. Jacob was staring at the damage caused by last night's brawl. It surprised Tom that most of it was due to his biotics. The intellectual felt a ping of guilt when he noticed a dent in the wall caused by a biotically thrown chair.

As the two brothers took in the damage that was somewhat their fault, two figures emerged from the backroom. One was a turian female; the other was the asari bartender from last night. The turian girl was pleading to the asari.

"I'm sorry for what my idiot comrades did, I know it was wrong! But the damage has been paid for and I don't want the rest of my ship's crew punished for what only a few did!" The turian girl apologized to the angry asari bartender. The bartender appeared to loosen up. She gave the turian girl a half smile.

"Don't worry about it. You and your friends are okay. I don't want to see those trouble makers here anymore, though." The bartender warned. The turian girl nodded in understanding. They both turned to go about their business and noticed the two humans watching them.

Jacob recognized the turian as Korra, the girl he danced with the night before. The asari, on the other hand, recognized both humans as the ones who helped mess up her bar.

"Oh, great! It's **you** two!" The bartender groaned. "You know what? I don't care! Korra, they're all yours!"

The bartender stormed off to the back room once more, leaving Korra and the two humans standing awkwardly in the middle of the bar. Korra looked over to Jacob.

"Um…. Hi." Stammered Korra.

The situation was strange for Tom. He had never seen a nervous turian. It got stranger when he noticed his brother was nervous as well, another rarity.

"Hey!" replied Jacob as he, for once, gave a genuine smile.

Korra's mandibles flared into the turian equivalent of a smile, her eyes bright.

"I'll just leave you two alone." Tom slowly backed out of the conversation and left for the far side of the bar, leaving Jacob and Korra to their business.

"Why does everyone keep doing that?" Korra muttered to herself as she watched Tom strut off. She turned back to Jacob.

"I've wanted to apologize about my idiot brother ruining the fun. He didn't use to be like that-."

Jacob held up a hand. Korra understood the gesture as a polite way for someone to tell you to stop talking.

"You don't need to apologize about anything, Korra. It wasn't **your **fault." Jacob assured her, placing one hand on her shoulder. Korra's mandibles flared once more at the physical contact.

"That's sweet, Jacob, really. I just wish we had gotten more time to get to know each other."

"Well, are you free tonight?"

Korra gave Jacob a weird look.

"Free? I'm pretty sure I haven't been enslaved at all in my life. I think tonight won't be much different."

Jacob chuckled, his smile widening.

"I meant, are you busy? Are you available to spend time with me tonight?"

"Oh!" Korra's eyes widened. "Well, I do have to go back to my ship for a few hours, but I should be back tonight. Say, Ten O'clock?"

"Good! Maybe you'd want to catch a movie?"

Korra gave Jacob another weird look.

"**Vids**, I mean. Down at the new multiplex."

Korra nodded, her mandible clicking in excitement. Jacob found it cute.

"Alright then! It's a date! I'll see you tonight, we'll meet at the bar!" Jacob declared, not bothering to hide his happiness.

Not knowing what to say next, Korra nodded at Jacob and left the club, a spring very evident in her step.

Her mind was racing. What was she going to wear? How would she show off her fringe? Did Jacob even find fringes attractive? Maybe show off her hips instead?

One question stuck with her though, a niggling thought in the back of her head.

What in the name of the spirits was a "date"?

**8**

**8**

**8**

There you go folks! My longest chapter to date!

I hope you enjoy it!

I also want to apologize for taking so long. It's been a busy couple of weeks, going through finals and going Christmas shopping. But that's over with! Now I can focus on kicking back and relaxing!

Merry Christmas everyone! Happy Hanukah, too! And Kwanza! And Festivus! Whatever you celebrate (or don't celebrate) have fun and merry time doing it!

-Harold


	7. Act 1: Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own mass effect or any of its characters. I do own these OCs though.

Really, really sorry for the long wait! I honestly don't have an excuse! Guess I'm just lazy! I also apologize for such a short chapter! But, I assure you, I'll be back on the ball in no time!

Here you go!

_**Thoughts are in italics and bold.**_

**8**

**8**

**8**

Jacob was nervous. This came as a surprise to the young man. He was _never_ nervous about a date! And yet, here he was, sitting at a bar, alone, and in his best clothes, waiting anxiously for an alien girl who made his heart do barrel rolls.

Back on Earth, Jacob usually just threw on a muscle shirt and some jeans and that was that. Tonight was different. Korra deserved something special.

Unless, of course, she preferred muscle shirts.

_**Damn! Hadn't thought of that!**_

Jacob was wearing a nice, blue, button-up shirt. The shirt was un-tucked and the sleeves were rolled up slightly, just short of his elbows. He also didn't button the top buttons on his shirt. He wanted to look good, but not too formal. Jacob was also wearing his good jeans. The ones that showed off his sculpted ass.

His hair, despite how short it was, was combed and gelled, but not the point of his hair acting like a mirror.

If Jacob were to describe himself at this moment, he'd say he looked "fucking sexy". The asari in the bar would also agree.

Jacob ignored the leers he was getting and even had to turn down a few propositions. After all, he was here for someone else.

The human felt a tap on his shoulder. He groaned inwardly.

_**Not another one**_, Jacob thought, frustrated.

He whirled around, ready to explain, yet again, that he was unavailable. He expected to find another asari maiden hoping to jump his bones. Instead, he found Korra.

"Listen, I'm not – _Oh, Hi!_" Jacob changed his tone and expression quickly, now sporting what he hoped was a charming smile.

Korra's mandibles flared, Jacob silently hoping it was also a smile.

"Hello, Jacob. Ready for our…, um, what was the word? 'Date'?" Korra chirped, her tone happier than usual.

Jacob tugged at his collar a bit. This didn't go unnoticed by the turian girl. Korra knew this to be a human sign of nervousness.

She made him nervous? Korra didn't know whether this was good or bad.

Jacob cleared his throat, trying to sound more masculine.

"You look nice." Jacob said, gesturing towards his date. He wasn't lying. Korra wore what appeared to be a combination of a dress and a bodysuit, wearing pants and a type of skirt. The outfit was snug to her body and a deep crimson. The color went well with her rich, brown skin. She even looked to have re-did her face-paint. Jacob thought her to be elegant and beautiful, despite her being a turian.

Korra's mandibles clicked excitedly, the turian equivalent of a blush.

"Thank you, Jacob. You don't look that bad yourself." Complimented Korra.

Jacob smirked, purposefully flexing his arms as he crossed them over his chest, something Korra undoubtedly noticed. She drank the sight in, her eyes glazing over.

"I take it that you're ready to go?" Jacob asked.

Korra snapped out of her daze, quickly drawing her eyes from Jacob's arms.

"Yes, you said we were going to the multiplex to catch a vid?"

Jacob nodded, holding out an arm from his side. Korra looked at it, unsure of what to do. She remembered Gus saying something about a "hand-shake", the common human greeting, but the way he described it was different than what Jacob was doing. Humans usually held out their hands, not their entire arms.

Jacob looked confused as well, before realization dawned on him. He brought his palm up to his face, grunting in annoyance.

"That's right!" He exclaimed, "Turians have different customs than humans!"

This intrigued Korra. She always loved to hear more about other species' cultures.

"What kind of customs?" she implored.

Before Jacob could answer, another voice piped up. It was high-pitched, and nasally and was spoken in a hurried tone. Jacob immediately recognized the voice.

Doban walked up to the inter-species couple, a large smile spread across his face. Given how narrow salarian faces were, it was truly a sight to behold.

"Linking arms is a human custom usually in regards to courtship. It shows that a couple is together or currently on "a date". Strange, I know, but also very fascinating. " The salarian explained with great enthusiasm.

Jacob gave Korra nodded in affirmation as he gave a sheepish look. He turned back to Doban.

"Hey, Doban! What are you doing here?" Jacob asked, surprised at the Salarian's sudden appearance.

"Having a few drinks, talking with people." Doban responded, "You?"

"Korra and I were about to leave. I'm taking her on a date." Jacob said, emphasizing the word 'date', hoping Doban would get the message.

Korra wrinkled her brow. She still didn't understand what that word meant. The extranet was no help when it came to translations.

"What does that word mean?" Korra interjected. Both Jacob and Doban turned to the turian woman, giving her confused stares.

"'Date', what does it mean?" She repeated.

Doban smiled at the chance to show off his knowledge.

"A 'date' is a human term for spending time with another person, during which both people take part in various, non-sexual activities and engage in courtship behavior." Doban smiled, pleased with himself, before quickly adding, "Also a type of nut."

Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose, as Doban happily nodded at his "expertise".

Korra was, at first, surprised. But surprise soon turned to excitement. I turned out a "date" was exactly what she wanted.

Korra reached over, gently grabbing Jacob's arm. The human looked up in surprise as the turian girl led him away from Doban and to the door.

"Well… you two have fun! I'll be here!" Doban called out after them.

Soon, the pair was out in the street, under the city's colorful lights. Above them, sky-cars soared through the night sky, accompanied by their signature, eerie wail. It was a beautiful sight, romantic even. It was perfect for the couple's activities.

Korra turned to Jacob, still clinging to his arm.

"Well, Jacob? Shall we begin our 'date'?"

**8**

**8**

**8**

I know, I know, short as hell, and for that I apologize. More will come in the near future. The same applies to all of my stories, which, by the way, you should totally check out ().

Before I go, here me out, regarding ME3.

**ANYONE WHO DIDN'T CHOOSE PEACE IN THE GETH-QUARIAN CONFLICT IS A GENOCIDAL MONSTER!**

**YOU ARE GOING TO A VERY SPECIAL LEVEL OF HELL, RESERVED FOR CHILD MOLESTERS AND PEOPLE WHO TALK AT THE THEATER! THE SPECIAL HELL!**

**SAME APPLIES TO THOSE WHO SHOT MORDIN IN THE BACK! **

…

…

…

…

**YOU MONSTER!**

Anywho, thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a review. I live off those. They pay my rent. Pretty please….?

-Harold


	8. Act 1: Chapter 8

I just want to take the time to apologize for making you guys and gals wait so long for this update. I've been really busy with this little bitch called "life" and I haven't had the time to really get some serious writing done. Now that I've gotten things sorted out, I can focus on my stories and rewrites.

I'd also like to thank those that have stuck with me since I started on here. I really appreciate you guys and gals taking the time to read and review my, let's be honest here, mediocre work. I know I'm not the best writer out there, far from it, and it's nice to know people appreciate you and what you have to offer.

So, here's my thanks to the following:

**Whatshisface v.2**

**TheEnglishDevil**

**jax91**

**jared2492**

**Eterna1Soldier**

**MaxNight**

**luk3us**

**Iknowtoomuch**

**SaiLena**

**Angelus288**

**I M KROGAN**

**Redentor**

**FellowNrd**

**biganime40**

**BladeRy**

**Solrac III**

**Shotgun assassin**

**grandhunter**

**JC**

**Zeep123**

**Commander-Cupcake**

**NovaEffect**

**infinity-PROKNIFER69**

**Rogue Nights**

**undyinghunter**

**Sigma Castell**

**wolf2021**

**flippedeclipse**

**The Eezoman**

**Classy Cynic**

**TheWerdna**

**meaninglessmonotony**

**I have a jar of dirt**

**Django McCluskey**

**Enis**

**JamesK716**

**Wgreen**

**Mattmaster112**

**KFish1**

**x Kyuubi z**

**Frustrastion**

**Mastermind4892**

**Isq78**

**Octo8**

**Legionary Prime**

**Echo of an Idiot**

**jozs001**

**ShadowCub**

**Omilophile**

**herbert89**

**Anon42**

**DN7**

**sniper1250**

**jaass20**

**BlueMoon**

**axely**

**Harhaoppinen**

**JadedObserver**

**Validos**

**sithmaster46a**

**Lesser Ninja**

**The Fool's Journey**

**Silverscale**

**LordLuffy07 of the Merry Go**

**Foonator**

**A-01**

**The Straight Elf**

**Dawning Wisdom**

**Darkerego**

**Xeno Tryant**

**Paragon of Awesomeness**

**Dracco**

**amac1688**

**blackwind2254**

**Phlegmatics**

**Martial Arts Master**

**Colonel Discussion**

**Marshall88**

**TinyTut83**

**darkfinder**

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**TZW**

**Aspergian Mind**

**stormwolf3710**

**body builder**

**Nutt Man 117**

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**Adams7**

**JenJo**

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**Hammerchuckery**

**GodricGryff**

**Waffleface**

**Iyrsiiea**

**Nihlus Oken**

**bale626**

**Gavoon**

And last but not least,

**Lowar**

Phew! Long list, miright?

All of you are wonderful and awesome, providing me with priceless feedback that will hopefully shape me into a better writer than what I am today. You are my inspiration, my driving force that compels me to continue writing. I love seeing what you guys think, to read the opinions of my peers.

So, in short, thank you.

Stay awesome, ladies and gents! The world is better with your continuing existence!

So, without further delays, here's the latest chapter.

Hope you enjoy!

_Thoughts are in italics._

**:**

**8**

**8**

**8**

**:**

**Downtown**

Jacob already had the date planned out before he met up with Korra. They would go out to dinner at a nice restaurant (with reservations, of course) and then catch a vid at the multiplex. It was the basic "vanilla" date, the safe and reliable setup. It would show that he could show his girl a good time and not put a black hole in his wallet. Jacob couldn't screw this up even if he tried.

The young human male knew how to conduct himself on such occasions. He would always ask about Korra and her life and he would always listen to her. He would learn about her, her interests, her hobbies, and he would do so in order to use that information to make the next date even better. There was that, and the fact that if he simply feigned interest, Korra would probably find out, get angry, and cut him.

Jacob had a keen interest on staying relatively intact.

He would also never encourage Korra to focus on the cheaper menu items. Never act like a cheapskate on a date. That was one of the quickest ways to cockblock yourself.

_Erm, not that I have any… __**intentions **__to use my… you know…_

Back on topic, always pay for the meal. That's just a given. Also, at the movies, always ask for your date's input. Your date probably doesn't think watching a testosterone-fueled, special effects bonanza will be a nice date movie. '

Unless, of course, she does.

In that case, marry her. **Immediately.**

These were the basic, unspoken rules of dating, passed down to Jacob by his father, and his father's father.

The young man thought back to a conversation he had with his dad a couple years back, when they were still together on Earth.

**:**

**:**

**Two years ago**

Sixteen-year-old Jacob McCreary sat patiently in his home's living room, straightening out his nice, dress shirt, listening intently to his father as the older McCreary paced in front of him. This was priceless information that would ultimately shape the lad into a fine young gentleman that any woman would be content to have.

Or, at the very least, a young man that will be respectful to his date.

_A date that should have started around __**half an hour ago.**_

_Ah, to hell with it._

Jacob needed to leave NOW if he was to salvage anything from this. Jenna wouldn't wait all night for him and his dad wasn't known for getting right to the point.

The elder McCreary scratched his chin, his fingers brushing against the ignored stubble that grew there. He turned to his son once more, the younger McCreary looking quite presentable in his best clothes and his once unruly hair cut and combed to a more respectable and handsome style. With a cough to clear his throat, his dad picked up his lecture where he left off.

"You asked **her** on a date. She didn't need to accept the invitation. She is not the lucky one here, Jake, that would be **you**. She saw something worthwhile in your sorry ass and decided to spend her valuable time with you. If anything, **you** should be one groveling at **her** feet. So, you will treat this girl no less than like a queen." His dad's voice was stern, the result of many years within the military, but Jacob had long since gotten used to it.

"So, I'm supposed to do everything for her?" Jacob questioned, not quite clear at what his father meant. He needed to leave, sure, but this was confusing enough to him to warrant an actual question. Despite having been in service, Jacob's father sometimes wasn't quite clear in what he was saying.

"Now, I'm not saying you should baby her or anything. This isn't _"The big, strong man aiding the helpless maiden",_ Jacob. Women are not weak, far from it. They are your equal." His father replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

_Wait, what?_

"Okay, hold up. Should I treat Jenna as my equal, or as a queen?"

"Both."

…_huh?_

"Does that make me a king?" Jacob couldn't resist contradicting his dad. He set himself up too easily.

"No, you're still a filthy-minded, teenage boy, just like I was." His dad's response was curt, near instantaneous.

_Okay, he's definitely not making any sense, now._

"So, you want me to treat her like a queen, but, at the same time, like a _'filthy-minded, teenage boy'_?" Jacob was trying his best not to laugh. This was priceless.

His dad pinched the bridge of his nose, visibly getting tired of Jacob's antics.

"_**No!**_ Ugh, what I'm trying to say, Jacob, is that you treat her with respect! Don't act like you're better than her, because the truth is, you're not." His father continued as paced back and forth, "It's 2156 for god's sake! Sexism is long dead, but _chivalry_ is not. I'm going to make damn sure of that with you and your brother, Jacob. You will treat this '_Jenna'_ as your equal, but that doesn't mean you can't act like a gentleman! Do you understand, son?"

Jacob nodded slowly, starting to understand. He had actually started to listen to his dad, really listened. He may have been in a hurry before, but this was actually useful information.

"I think I get it, dad." Jacob said, truthfully.

His father smiled, a hint of pride in his eye, for his son or for his own accomplishment, Jacob couldn't be for certain (although the young teenager thought it was probably for the former).

"Good." His father finally stopped pacing, taking a seat in his recliner, "Now go and pick up Jenna, Jake, my watch says you're a little late!" The older McCreary glanced over to the holo-clock on the far wall of the living room, smirking at his son.

_Shit._

Jacob grimaced at his father's gleeful expression. Pushing people's buttons was a personality trait that the two humans shared (much to the two brother's chagrin).

"_Yeah, thanks a __**lot**_, _dad._" Jacob snarked as he hurried for the door, snatching the sky-car keys from a nearby coffee table as he did.

Before the younger McCreary was through the door and into the busy streets of the metropolis of New York City, his father called out (quite loudly) to him.

"_**-Just don't get her pregnant!"**_

Jacob froze in his steps, his eyes as wide as saucers. A few passersby stopped in their tracks as well. They had heard it, too. Who wouldn't have heard it, a grown man yelling at the top of his lungs?

_D-did he just…? _

Behind him, Jacob could hear his father laughing his ass off.

_Yep. He totally did._

Jacob whirled around, his face tomato red, flushed in complete and utter embarrassment.

"_**DAD!"**_

**:**

**:**

**The Present**

Jacob didn't know whether to smile fondly or sneer at the memory, so he settled for both. The result was him looking absolutely ridiculous as he walked down the sidewalk, Korra hanging off his arm. The human silently thanked his father posthumously for the dating advice. It had served him well back on Earth, and Jacob hoped it would generate similar results with Korra. He didn't know whether or not that the advice was applicable to turian women as well as humans, but some knowledge was better than no knowledge.

The turian girl in question, who was currently by his side, looked at her human date with a confused expression.

"Jacob, are you alright?" Korra asked with genuine concern, eyeing the human curiously, "You've been quiet for a while… and you had a weird look on your face for a moment."

Jacob broke free from the memories, suddenly thrust back into reality.

"Yeah, sorry, just thinking about… things." He answered sheepishly.

Korra nodded slowly, seemingly accepting the answer, but she still kept the look of confusion on her face.

After a moment, the turian girl spoke up again.

"How far until we reach the restaurant, Jacob? We've been walking for a while, now."

_A while? The restaurant was only a few blocks from the bar!, _thought Jacob.

It was only then that Jacob really took in their surroundings.

The inter-species couple was on a sidewalk, in a part of the city he did not recognize. It was then that the young human realized he had been blindly walking forward this whole time, leading Korra and himself to an unknown part of the town. He must have overshot the restaurant by several blocks at least.

"Crap." Jacob huffed, his broad shoulders slumping down pitifully.

"Is something wrong?" Korra questioned, sounding only a bit worried.

Jacob grimaced.

There were better ways to start a date…

The human hoped he hadn't screwed it up before it even started.

"Sorry Korra. I think I may have gotten us lost." Jacob admitted, wincing, hoping that being honest would earn him brownie points.

_If turians even __**have **__brownie points…_

"Lost?" Strangely, there was no anger in Korra's voice, only more confusion. Jacob could only hope that anger would stay out of this particular equation. Angry date equals bad (and deadly) date.

"When I was… _thinking,_ I must have set myself on autopilot or something. I sort of blindly led us nowhere. Hehehe… sorry…." Jacob sheepishly scratched the back of his head, careful not to ruin his combed hair. He gave a soft chuckle. Maybe he could turn possible anger into humor.

To Jacob's relief, it worked.

Korra burst into a fir of uncharacteristic giggles, her mandibles clicking against her jaw. Most other humans would have found such a sight slightly discomforting, what with the alien facial structure and all.

But not Jacob. He actually found it quite cute.

Jacob didn't have much experience with turian facial expressions, but he was sure Korra was smiling.

This was good. He could salvage this.

"Something funny?" Jacob asked Korra, flashing his 'charming' grin.

"What you said, 'autopilot', I've never heard that before. At least, not in the way you used it." Korra chuckled.

Jacob smiled, leaning against a lamppost.

"Yeah, well, you know how when you're doing something and then you start thinking about other things?"

Korra nodded, wanting to hear more.

"Well, humans sometimes get lost in their thoughts but they keep moving around, doing things, as if on autopilot." Jacob continued, "Has that ever happened to you?"

Korra smiled, nodding once more, this time, her mandibles flared into a turian smile.

"Yes, actually. Now I have something to call it. _'Autopilot'_! Hah!" Korra began chucking once more, taking a hold of Jacob's arm once more, carefully wrapping her taloned hands around it.

Jacob's confidence soared. He wasn't out just yet. Still in the game, just like a McCreary.

"Soooo… you wanna head back? We could still make the reservation, and if not, then we still have the vid to look forward to." Jacob suggested, gesturing back where they came.

Korra's mandibles clicked once, the turian girl's hold on his arm grew tighter. Barely noticeable, but noticeable nonetheless.

"Lead the way, Jacob." She purred, "Just keep the settings on manual control. Autopilot isn't known for being reliable."

_Ok, I may have deserved that._

Jacob winced as he smiled back, leading his alien date back towards the restaurant.

_Restaurants back that way. I think._

**:**

**8**

**8**

**8**

**:**

Again, I'd like to apologize for the LOOOONG hiatus. I don't have an excuse other than I'm sort of lazy. I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and I'll try to update more often!

Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it!

Don't forget to leave a review! You know how I love those things!


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